ResPonSe – Coastal Sustainability & Blue Economy
Regional Impact
The project targets three transition regions: Western Macedonia (Greece), Centru (Romania), and Southeastern Bulgaria. These areas face the dual challenge of economic restructuring and fossil fuel phase-out.
COALition strengthens local ecosystems, builds capacity, and helps secure funding, laying the foundation for sustainable growth and job creation in emerging sectors like renewables, hydrogen, and energy efficiency.
Market Context
Coal regions across Europe are under pressure to phase out fossil fuels while preserving economic stability.
Despite their challenges, they also present major opportunities — with estimates of up to 314,000 jobs created through clean energy investments by 2030.
EU policies like the Green Deal, Just Transition Fund, and Hydrogen Strategy support this shift, yet local coordination, strategic planning, and skills development remain key barriers.
Beneficiary
Primary beneficiaries include workers in coal-related industries, regional and local authorities, innovation ecosystem stakeholders, academic institutions, and SMEs in the energy and tech sectors.
Broader beneficiaries include residents of transition regions, future investors, and the extended EU innovation community focused on clean energy and climate neutrality.
Stakeholder Network
COALition is implemented by a diverse consortium of partners from Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria, including public institutions, universities, regional agencies, private companies, and NGOs.
Key members include CERTH (leader), Iceberg Plus, UMFST Târgu Mureș, Sofia University, Mureș County Council, Stara Zagora REDA, and many more.
ResPonSe focuses on sustainable blue tourism entrepreneurship and ecological restoration along Romania’s Black Sea coast and Danube Delta.
It balances economic development with biodiversity conservation by supporting local entrepreneurship and restoring degraded natural habitats. Iceberg+, as a key implementation partner, brings its expertise in digital innovation, ecosystem development, and multi-stakeholder engagement to the project’s core activities.
Regional Impact
The project enhances socio-economic development in Romania’s coastal communities.
Iceberg+ plays a central role in building regional capacity for marine conservation and entrepreneurship through participatory governance and innovation-driven training formats, supporting local stakeholders in managing marine protected areas and initiating business solutions.
Market Context
Romania’s coastal areas face biodiversity loss, poor infrastructure, and economic underdevelopment.
ResPonSe aligns with the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and blue economy priorities, focusing on tourism as a sustainable growth engine.
Beneficiary
- local communities in coastal regions
- blue economy entrepreneurs
- local governments
- conservation groups managing marine protected areas
Stakeholder Network
Academic institutions (UOC, UB, UBB), local governments, marine agencies, investors, and community entrepreneurs all collaborate in the project.
Iceberg+ facilitates cross-sector collaboration and helps translate research into actionable tools and services, ensuring alignment with EU sustainability goals and supporting scalable blue economy models.
Results
(Short Timeline Yearly)
Year 1
Identified key issues and stakeholders
Conducted ecological and socio-economic assessments
Developed a toolbox for sustainable development
Year 2
Launched Living Labs for stakeholder engagement
Deployed business solutions and investment roadmap
Developed a digital sustainability decision-making platform
Year 3
Delivered entrepreneurship and biodiversity training
Organized job fairs and supported start-ups
Published best practices and scientific studies
OUT
SMART THE MARKET
THINK THE STRATEGY
DO THE STATUS QUO
SMART THE MARKET
For startups, SMEs, academia, authorities.
For Bold ones.